


Fade Into You

by ballpoint



Category: Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: fic prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-23
Updated: 2011-06-23
Packaged: 2017-10-20 16:05:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballpoint/pseuds/ballpoint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy didn't realise that Teddy was there, until one day, he did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fade Into You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dahlia_Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Moon/gifts).



_In Central Park, the sun draws dusky curtains across its light, bringing on the shadows of the evening. Teddy's head is bowed, as he searches for something in his rucksack._

 _"I know it's here, somewhere. Wait."_

In his heart, Billy knows that this - thing with Teddy might not last. His mother tells him that, for one.

"Relationships change, just like people do. The thing with most couples," she begins, as they sit around the dinner table, Billy helping his brothers to soup and bread. "They think that things should always stay the same, a peculiar form of stasis, and feel betrayed when they don't."

"Rebecca-" his father sniffs, but it's not mean, nor uncomfortable. It's a gentle verbal nudge, for his wife not to take herself so seriously.

"Jeff, Billy's growing up now. He'll be looking into relationships, walking away from them. Each one, a contagion-"

"Mom." Billy blushes, busies himself with helping his brothers with soup and bread.

***

 

His ears can't close around his mother, and Billy realises that she is right, about relationships being a contagion; he falls a little into everyone he meets, walks away with a bit of each person on him, leaves something of himself behind.

Nate is smart, bright eyed and eager. Nate's focus on defeating his future self bleeds on all of them. "You'll all have to train," he says, throwing his arm around Billy's shoulders, ruffling his hair. "You'll have to fight the future me."

"If I were wearing that green poncho and purple thigh highs, I think I'd be grumpy too."

Billy laughs at Nate's vicious salute.

Eli is the biggest geek who ever geeked. He doesn't speak about girls, content to hunt for Nate's future like the rest of them do. In matters of this, he's easy to talk to. "Like, a date?" The question obviously baffles Eli. "Spider-Man never dated until he got to college."

"So your great plan is... to wait until college to date someone?"

"Chicks dig college guys."

"They might do, if you don't call them 'chicks', That's pretty high school."

"True." Eli nods. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you dating someone?"

"No," Billy drags the word out. "Why, Eli, I didn't think I was your type, since you're you know... straight."

"Hah. You'll never be my type, bro. It's hard enough without magic."

Billy mutters, _tieEli'slacestogethertieEli'slacestogether_ and smirks when Eli trips over his feet and crashes to the floor.

"That's a dick move."

***

 

Teddy has always been here, a part of the quartet. His hair is bright as the sky on a good day, and his personality shiny as the studs in his ears.

"We did good, stopping that Brinks truck robbery." Teddy says, after they split up, Eli disappearing to the Bronx before his grandmother gets worried, Nate haring off to wherever to think of other ways to safe guard the world form his future self, just leaving Teddy and Billy behind.

It happens more and more, Eli rolling his eyes good naturedly, after he fails to catch their eye. The bickering between Eli and Nate as they do post mortems of missions.

"Eli's gonna give himself an ulcer if he carries on like that."

"It's his way," Billy says, "just like it's Nate's to worry. The best way is to ride it out, they'll get there eventually."

"And you, how's your magic coming along?" Teddy asks, ever so politely, and Billy squirms. "It goes."

"I've something for you, hold on-" Teddy rummages into his knapsack, a shock of hair falling over his forehead, as he fishes something out.

" _'Self help for Dummies: Mantras for Empowerment'_?" Billy reads its cover.

"Yeah, my mom's a real estate agent, and sometimes, when she needs a big sale, she visualises it, says stuff aloud. I mean," a flush creeps up his neck and cheeks, and he's too cute. "You know, it can't hurt, right?"

"No," Billy agrees. It can't hurt, and it doesn't. It seems that everything starts with the will.

From his mom, Billy knows that relationships change.

One evening, cutting through Central Park, Teddy stops walking, and Billy turns around, senses on high alert. They are alone, Eli is somewhere at home waiting for college to hurry up so he can start dating, and Nate is off preparing for his future self. They are two of a quartet. The self help is kicking in and he's actualising magic; but his brothers dismiss him because he doesn't have a wand from Diagon Alley. In addition to that he's only at Chapter Three: Eliminate the Negative- Have No Truck With Mr Inbetween.

Teddy moves into his space, his face open like the chapters of the book Billy reads at night.

Okay, so Billy might not be like Eli waiting for college to date, but it's not as if he's beating people off his facebook wall, either. He angles his head, his lips part as Teddy cups his cheek in his hand and they kiss. Just lips pressed against each other - the world falls away, his hand up grasping Teddy's shoulder, holding him fast and not letting go.

Eventually, Teddy breaks the kiss, but Billy stops him. "Why stop?"

"You had to you know, breathe."

"Oh, yeah, breathing. We're going to do this again. I mean -" at this, Billy stops, not wanting to find that he's half way down the road and Teddy's still tying his shoe laces. Awkward. "Right?"

"Right," Teddy grins, eyes and teeth and dazzling. "But let's do this right. Friday night, if we're not on patrol trying to save the world, let's go and see a movie."

"I baby sit on Friday nights." Billy's grin is rueful. "My mother insists on using it as a touchstone for family bonding."

"Saturday night, then? My treat."

"We'll go halves," Billy says, because he knows that Teddy only has his mom, while he has _parents_. Relationships shouldn't start off on a bad foot.

"Okay," Teddy agrees readily. "I have to get home now, it's my turn to cook. Meatloaf." He makes a face, and Billy laughs. "Okay. My train goes that way-"

"Well. I'll call you tonight, if I ..."

"Yeah, I..."

They exchange smiles, and Billy walks home. He might have been on air, his senses buzzing and tingling as if magic had been under his skin all this time.

Billy lets himself in, and soon it is dinner time, with his mother and brothers and father at the table. It's brisket tonight, with sides of rice and vegetables and bread.

His mother's voice washes over him like waves of sound, his father reaches over and squeezes her hand. "You don't have to worry, honey, our kids will be all right, and they are far too young to be thinking about relationships."

"Billy is fifteen. That's a prime age for romantic notions to trump reality."

"It won't, mom." Billy says, thinking about Teddy, their kiss, and how things do change. Options move forward, presenting themselves in a way that they hadn't before. Self help, interest, magic.

He won't tell his mom this, because she will freak, and Jewish moms didn't need reason to worry. But he's ready, gathering bits of others into himself, feeding pieces of himself into others, with the knowledge that Teddy- when they get there- they will make each other whole.

Fin


End file.
